MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING –April 13, 2009
Central Administration Office Boardroom
Notice of the meeting was given in advance by publication and/or posting in accordance with the Board approved method for giving notice of meetings. Notice of this meeting was given in advance to all members of the Board of Education. Availability of the agenda was communicated in the publicized notice and a current copy of the Agenda was maintained as stated in the publicized notice. All proceeding of the Board of Education, except as may be hereinafter noted, were taken while the convened meeting was open to attendance of the public.
1. CALL TO ORDER:
At the beginning of this meeting, the chairperson announced and informed the public that a current copy of the Open Meeting Act is posted on the West wall of the meeting room.
Mitch Deines called the regular meeting to order at 7:30 PM in the Central Administration Boardroom. Those members present: Steve Winter, Terry Cossel, Jon Zimmerman, Randy Coleman, Monte Lofing, Lisa Pieper and Tobias Tempelmeyer. Jim Spangler was absent at the call to order. Dr. Dale Kruse, Secretary of the Board was also present.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Board of Education and those attending the meeting recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. CONSENT AGENDA:
a. Moved by Steve Winter, seconded by Monte Lofing that the agenda be approved as submitted.
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper,Coleman, Cossel,Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: None Motion Carried
b. Moved by Steve Winter, seconded by Monte Lofing that the minutes of the March 9, 2009regular board meeting are approved as circulated.
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper, Coleman, Cossel, Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: None Motion Carried
c. Moved by Steve Winter, seconded by Monte Lofing that the proposed accounts for payment be paid.
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper, Coleman, Cossel, Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: None Motion Carried
d. Moved by Steve Winter, seconded by Monte Lofing that the budgetary receipts and expenditures be received and placed on file.
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper, Coleman, Cossel, Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: None Motion Carried
e. Moved by Steve Winter, seconded by Monte Lofing that the committee minutes of the Finance and Facilities Committee, Instruction and Activities Committee and the School and Community Committee be approved.
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper, Coleman, Cossel, Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: None Motion Carried
f. Moved by Steve Winter, seconded by Monte Lofingto approve the following choice requests -
To Freeman 08/09 – Joshua Carter – Gr. 1 and Joseph Carter – Gr. 3 -To Tri County 08/09 – Jordan Kuhn – Gr. 6 – To Tri County 09/10 – Caden Reedy – Gr. K – To Norris 09/10 – Cameron McCormick – Gr. K – From Southern 09/10 – Jordan Jurgens – Gr. 6
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper, Coleman, Cossel, Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: None Motion Carried
4. OUTSTANDING RECOGNITION:
a. The Board of Education recognized the Boys Basketball State Runner Up Team of Trevor Menke, Jordan Junker, Lucas Laflin, Ethan Schlueter, Tandon Dorn, Derek Klaus, Tommie Bardsley, Maxx Claassen, Devan Meyer, Philip McClure, Daniel Davie, Ryan Stegemann, Grant Smith and Jordan Wallman.
b. The Board of Education recognized Trevor Menke who was named by the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star as 2nd Team Super State and 1st Team All State Class B.
c. The Board of Education recognized Grant Smith who was named by the Lincoln Journal Star as 2nd Team All State Class B.
5. INFORMATION:
a. Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Kruse reportedthat several students will be participating in District Music, which will be held on April 23 and April 24. Dr. Kruse shared that we have127 kindergarten students registered at this time and that we will have seven sections of kindergarten instead of eight for next year. Dr. Kruse had attended the 4-H Council Character Counts Award honoring Alexis Arena, Courtney Hays, Alyssa Wolken, Ethan Schlueter and Holly Bishop who received honorable mention.
b. GNSA/Legislative Report –Steve Winter reported he attended the GNSA meeting on March 18th.
There was a lot of discussion on LB 545 the State Aid Formula Bill. The stimulus dollars of 234 million will be added to the formula to help fund it for the next two years. How to fund State Aid in future years will continue to be discussed. School Employees Retirement System is reporting a shortfall due to the downward economy. Legislators are looking at a possible increase in the amount the employee contributes, which in turn requires school districts to contribute more as the district is required by statue to contribute 101% of the amount the employee contributes. The next meeting isApril 15, 2009.
c. Student Update – Ethan Schlueter reported that Prom this year was a Jungle Theme and went very well. The Post Prom games were fun and the Sumo Suits were fun to watch. Ethan reported that Ryan Rabstejnek placed 3rd at State Speech and Bethany Randel placed 10th. Ethan congratulated the Boys Basketball team finishing up as State Runner Up and Trevor Menke and Grant Smith for their selection to the All-State Basketball teams. The School Play is Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 at 7:00 PM. All spring sports are off to a great start except trackthat have had no outdoor meets due to weather and only one indoor meet with great weather. On Wednesday, April 22, 2009 students have an early out for staff development. The District Music contest will be on April 23 and April 24. Scholastic Banquet is on Saturday, May 2nd and Orange and Black is on Saturday, May 9th. Ethan reminded students that it is important for all of them to finish the race to the end of the school year.
d. Mowing Bids –Joe Armstrong and Eric Tiemann from Beatrice Lawn Care along with their legal representative, Lyle Koenig expressed concern in regards to a bid award they did not receive. Beatrice Lawn Care has provided mowing services to the District for the past three years. During the bidding process, Beatrice Lawn Care was the only bid and it was rejected and bids were let again. When bidding the second time they bid the number of estimated mowings times a price per 1,000 square feet. When bidding this way they were the low bid, but when calculating the bid on the total cost they were not the lowest bidder. Beatrice Lawn Care requested the Board of Education award the bid to them or re-bid the mowing. Theyfelt that they bid according to the criteria of the bid, but that the bid was granted on a different criteria.
e. Facility Rental – Lori Warner, President of the Beatrice Chamber of Commerce came before the Board of Education to request that the Board reconsider theFacility Rental Policy. Lori explained that over the years the Chamber of Commerce has hosted a Youth Basketball Tournament. Last year they were informed that the cost of using the High School and Middle school would go from $0.00 to $1,398.00. Lori shared that she did visit with Mr. Nelson and Dr. Kruse. After finding out the fee could not be lowered they were forced to drop the use of the High School. The purpose of the tournament is to bring people to our community and get kids involved in basketball and not for the Chamber to make a profit, but break even. The Chamber would like to do this again in the fall, but if the cost is the same they will not be able to afford it. She asked the Board to reconsider their Facility Rental Policy.
f. Option Enrollment - Randy Coleman expressed concern that we have eighty students that have optioned out. He realizes that we have more students that option in, but what are we doing to retain students who are considering optioning out or what plan do we have to try and get them to come back to Beatrice Public Schools. Maybe a committee could be formed to review the option enrollment procedures. Mitch Deines suggested that since the loss of students affects our State Aid that this be sent to the Finance & Facilities committee for review.
g. Policy 8340 Procedures for Addressing the Board of Education – Terry Cossel would like to see some changes in the policy to make the Board of Education more accessible. First, currently if an item is to be placed on the agenda it needs to be submitted in writing to the Superintendent one week prior to the Board of Education meeting. Terry Cossel would like to see this be changed to the Tuesday before the Board of Education meeting. Second, if information can’t be gathered and compiled before the meeting then it is not placed on the agenda until the following meeting. Terry Cossel felt this is too long and even if we don’t have all the information maybe the discussion should be started. Third, Terry Cossel would like to see the Board of Education be able to respond to questions/comments from someone addressing the Board. Tobias Tempelmeyer shared that Policy 8340 makes references aboutfollowing Policy 8335 Delayed Action on Certain Agenda Items and felt the Board should review Policy 8335 at the same time. Dr. Kruse suggested that since these items were added to the agenda late that all board members review Policy 8340 at their next committee meeting. Finally, Dr. Kruse reminded the Board that they conduct their meetings in public, but they don’t conduct public meetings.
h. Federal Stimulus Dollars – Dr. Kruse shared the District will be receiving federal stimulus dollars to be used in two ways over the next two years. Special Education will be receiving about $545,000.00 the first year to help cover cost for Special Education costs not being reimbursed. We will also receive about $182,000.00 the first year for Title I. These dollars are more restricted in how they can be spent as they must be used for interventions and assistance in reading. Summer Stephens and Jami Jo Thompson are working with the elementary principals to look at different ways to do Title I programs so we can get the most out of these dollars. The second year of funding will be less than this year so we will need to be conservative this year and try to put some in reserve to offset the loss of State Aid.
i. Review of Board of Education Goal # 3 – Dr. Kruse stated that Board Goal # 3 is to assess current and future budgeting and finance trends to meet curriculum and facility needs. The first indicator is to conduct a longitudinal (3-year) cost grouping analysis to determine how funds have been allocated and spent. The strategy was to compile data on the district’s ability to maintain an 80/20 balance between salaries and other expenses. Chris Nelson has compiled the data and we are slightly under the 80/20 split. The second indicator was to identify alternative sources of funding (i.e. grant, foundations, tax levies). The strategy for this indicator was to compile data from selected school districts that have active foundations determining how they raise revenue and what expenditures the foundation supports. Chris Nelson and Dr. Kruse have contacted ten school districts and are in the process of compiling the data.
6. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
a. Finance & Facilities – Steve Winter reported that the committee met on April 9, 2009. The committee was updated on the District’s vehicle replacement plan. The replacement plan for student vehicles is every ten years or 100,000 miles and each year the District plans on 2-3 vehicles being replaced to help spread out the cost. This year two vans are scheduled to be replaced. The District has been reviewing the possibility of using wind energy. During this process the District found that only approximately 3 cents of the total 8 cents charge can be used to determine any savings and the other 5 cents are demand costs that NPPD charges BPWso the wind energy project would not be able to impact this amount. The committee was updated on the federal stimulus dollars. It appears the special education funds can be used to offset unfunded cost for special education. The Title I funds are more restrictive and the District is still reviewing what can be done to access these funds. The expected amount is approximately $740,000.00 for this first year and a smaller undetermined amount the second year. It is important to note the District is attempting to use these funds to offset the loss of State Aid and not for additional spending. Mr. Brethouwer updated the committee on the various projects for this summer. The largest project will be roof replacement, mechanical and lighting changes for both the Middle and High School and a drainage project at the High School. The committee was updated on the various items the District bids on. On an annual basis the District bids out classroom supplies, vehicles, lawn services and bread/dairy products. On an as-needed basis the District bids out furniture, printing, insurance, construction, gasoline, investments and various services. The committee’s next meeting will be May 7th at 7:00 AM.
b. Instruction & Activities – Terry Cossel reported that the committee met April 9, 2009. The committee was updated that the elementary, high school and middle school profiles are now available on our website. Summer Stephens reminded the committee that the school improvement chairs will be returning on April 22nd to provide exit reports from our recent visit. A committee is being formed to help guide the District’s creation of a technology vision. This vision will guide the district in increasing technology integration in the classroom. Summer Stephens shared that the District has selected the core reading series Scott Foresman Reading Street & My Sidewalks on Reading Street Intervention. The next step will be to finalize the alignment between the materials and the curriculum and to provide staff training and support to implement the new reading program in 2009-2010. The committee heard that the District had participated in a No Child Left Behind monitoring visit on March 23rd. The focus of the visit was to review all of the Title programs under NCLB. We should be receiving a final report. Summer Stephens shared that the students in grades 3-5 and 6-7 will field test the new Nebraska State Accountability test for reading on April 16th – April 30th. No achievement data will be collected during this test, but the District will be able to test its capacity to administer the test online and will help provide some training to staff and students. Next spring the test will be given to grades3-8 and grade 11 and will count for AYP results. Jami Jo Thompson shared information regarding changes involving the preschool schedule, updates to the Paddock Lane metal building and the room at middle school/high school Skills.
c. School & Community –Lisa Pieper reported the committee met on April 2, 2009 at the Paddock Lane Elementary. The committee discussed the elementary reading series. A committee of 13 teachers along with both principals and the Director of Curriculum & Assessment have been involved in this process since last summer. All elementary teachers have had an opportunity to review the material, ask questions and provide input. The cost of the materials is approximately $125,000.00 to $165,000.00. The principals have been saving money over the last several years and have approximately $180,000.00 saved. The staff asked if any staff reductions would occur in the 2009-2010 school year other than those through attrition. Dr. Kruse confirmed that not replacing some staff through attrition was the only thing that was being looked at for next year. The committee heard there was a need for more technology in the elementary classrooms and laptop use by high needs students. Staff shared that the Artist in Residence that spent a week at Paddock Lane working with students making drums did an outstanding job. Mrs. Replogle shared that the online pilot state reading assessment was going to be given to all students. This Spring Paddock Lane will once again have a plastic bottle recycling project. The students hope to collect enough bottles to make a recycled park bench out of plastic. The incubators have arrived and in about 20 day new baby chicks will be born. Mrs. Replogle shared that we have 127 kindergarten students registered for next year, which means there will be only seven sections of kindergarten for the 2009-2010 school year. The committee was entertained by a small group of first grade students who presented songs and poems they have been working on.
7. PUBLIC FORUM:
No one spoke in public forum.
8. ACTION:
a. Steve Winter moved that the Board of Education of District #15 approve Policy 1140 Trespassers. Monte Lofing seconded the motion.
ROLL CALL: Aye: Winter, Zimmerman, Deines, Pieper, Coleman, Cossel, Lofing and Tempelmeyer
Nay: Motion Carried